Trump’s first Monday as President dominated by trade, jobs

As he vowed repeatedly throughout the 2016 campaign, President Trump wasted no time on his first Monday in office in following through on a major campaign promise, as he pulled the United States out of a major trade deal, and pressed some notable U.S. companies to keep more jobs as home, threatening a “substantial border tax” on some products made overseas, as he used the bully pulpit of the White House to jawbone in favor of the American worker.

“I’ve been talking about this for a long time,” Mr. Trump said, as he signed an official memorandum pulling the U.S. out of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal with eleven other nations that he said would cost Americans jobs.

As the President held the document for the cameras, he proclaimed his move, “a great thing for the American worker.”

The Trump move drew praise from some Democrats, who had long complained the TPP would siphon jobs away from American workers.

“It’s the first step of many our country must take to bring back jobs and grow the American middle class,” said Rep. Robert Norcross (D-NJ).

“This action confirms what I have been saying my whole career: we need to be prioritizing American manufacturing, industries, and workers,” said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH).

Thank you @POTUS for putting American workers first and withdrawing from the bad deal Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).